Dance With Me?
by TheGreyLadyy
Summary: Perhaps it was the way he was looking at her—as if she were a mystery he was yearning to discover—or the rising surge of emotion in her heart that she felt as she looked up at him, that made her do something that, until recently, she would have thought revolting. She grabbed hold of his shirt collar and pulled him closer to her, pressing her lips against his. Two-shot.
1. Lily

_A/N: Just a little something I came up with in math class. I don't think my Professor was as excited as I was when he found out I wasn't really paying attention_.

_Disclaimer: Now, really, if I owned Harry Potter, what the hell would I be doing on here?_

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Dance With Me?

**Lily**

It was half-past three in the morning and Lily Evans couldn't fall asleep.

Which was rather odd because given her newfound Head Girl duties, mingled with the more Advanced classes she was now taking, more often than not left her feeling extremely exhausted.

She walked through the corridors, listening to the soothing patter of the rain against the sleeping castle as she tried her best to ignore the uncomfortable pressing sensation against her chest that was making it hard for her to breathe.

There were several reasons for her current inability to fall asleep and her will to break the rules for once.

For one, there was the war that was brewing outside the castle walls and the fact that Voldemort seemed to be getting stronger by the minute. People were dying all around and the disappearances were all but doubling. Although the Prophet tried to calm everyone's nerves by saying the Ministry was keeping things under control and that soon things would go back to normal, she knew better. This war was going to get worse before it got any better. She knew that, soon, they'd all be suffering the effects of such catastrophic war.

And then there was Petunia, her only sister and whom Lily had never had a loving relationship with. She seemed to have picked up on the fact that Lily's love life, or lack thereof, was rather pathetic, to say the very least, and had taken to flaunt her engagement to the large whale that went by the name of Vernon Dursley every chance she got. Mix that with the fact that Petunia seemed to rejoice in calling her a '_freak'_ whenever she could and it was no mystery why the Head Girl had been so happy to escape her home come September.

She broke into a run, trying to escape the slurs that seemed to be haunting her: _Freak_. _Mudblood_. _Slag_.

She had been foolish to think she'd be able to escape the insults at Hogwarts. The Slytherins seemed to have taken it upon themselves to follow Lily around the school, shouting out insults to her. Apparently, they weren't pleased that there was a 'mudblood in charge' and made a point of telling her so every chance they got.

Even worse than that was the fact that her best friend—or rather _ex_-best friend—seemed to have joined Voldemort's feared army of Death Eaters. The sudden memory of her ex-best friend brought many memories to her and with it a pang of sadness and she picked up her pace, trying to leave all those haunting memories of Severus behind.

As if to make matters worse, James Potter, the Head Boy to her Head Girl, seemed to have taken it upon himself to 'defend her honour' by punching anyone who dared even _breathe _the word 'mudblood' whenever she was in the vicinity. Damn him and his bloody hero-complex; he really was making it difficult for her to hate him.

Their relationship had never been a good one—he'd prank her and she'd shout, loud enough for the whole of Hogsmeade to hear—yet they seemed to have grown closer during the last few months, until they had reached something closely resembling a friendship. Had it not been for their Head duties and the fact that Marlene McKinnon, her best friend, had started going out with Sirius Black, Potter's best mate and partner in crime, had forced her to spend a considerate amount of time with him and the rest of the Marauders, she might never had taken the time to actually get to know the _real_ James Potter.

No longer was he the arrogant prick who would strut around the halls as if he _bloody_ owned them, hexing people for fun. Admittedly, she no longer was the prude, little Ms Evans who would rejoice in finding different ways to hex him whenever he so much as _looked_ her way. His head seemed to have deflated and even she had to admit he'd undergone a radical change.

She had tried her best to resist James Potter and his undeniably charming good looks, but had failed. And miserably. She now found herself feeling completely head-over-heels for the arrogantly humble, handsomely modest, dangerously responsible and predictably unpredictable person that was James Potter.

Too bad he didn't have the same feelings towards her anymore.

He had stopped asking her out and she knew she had finally pushed him to the limit with her constant rejections. He seemed to have moved on, forgetting about her entirely and leaving her to get a taste of her own medicine.

_Bet you wish you had said yes to him, don't you_? a voice in her head sneered and she sighed loudly, trying to drown it out as she ran faster.

She came to a sudden stop at the great oak doors and all the things she had been trying to escape caught up to her at full force. She felt as if she were having trouble breathing and the pressing sensation in her chest had returned at full force. She knew she needed to get away from all those haunting memories, and fast.

She bit her lip tentatively as she peered outside, before stepping out onto the pouring rain. She felt oddly at peace as she felt the rain kiss her cheek, intermingling with the tears falling down her pale face. The pressing sensation lifted and she felt—_cleansed_.

She threw back her head and laughed as she opened her arms to the rain, spinning around with the grace of a swan gliding across the lake.

"What the hell are you doing, Evans?" a voice called out through sound of rumbling thunder overhead. Lily spun around and spotted a familiar mess of raven hair running towards her. "It's pouring out here!"

"Dancing in the rain, what else?" she shouted back, grinning like if were the most normal thing in the world to be out at three in the morning, twirling around in the rain. "Dance with me?"

"You're a nutter, you know that?" he said, not unkindly, as he stopped a few inches in front of her.

She looked up at the familiar bespectacled hazel-eyes that were peering down at her, dancing with laughter. She laughed as she grabbed a hold of his hands and pulled him closer to her. He joined in on her laughter as he placed his hands on her waist and joined her in her dance, moving to the rhythm of music that only they could hear. He twirled her around and she threw her head back, laughing jovially, as if nothing pleased her more than dancing in the rain with him.

Perhaps it was the way he was looking at her—as if she were a mystery he was yearning to discover—or the rising surge of emotion in her heart that she felt as she looked up at him, that made her do something that, until recently, she would have thought revolting. She grabbed hold of his shirt collar and pulled him closer to her, pressing her lips against his.

James just stood there, without moving and she pulled away quickly, her eyes wide.

"I—I'm sorry," she whispered, feeling like a complete fool. Of course she was a fool. Who was she kidding? James didn't like her anymore; she had made sure of that, pushing him away every time he had tried to get close. And before she could stop them, the tears were falling again and she turned away from him, getting ready to break out into a sprint, but James caught her wrist before she could even move.

He gently steered her around, until she was facing him and she held her breath as he brought his hand up to her cheek, gently wiping a tear away with a calloused thumb. She closed her eyes, breathing hard in anticipation, her skin tingling with excitement at his touch. And then, when he cradled her face with his hand, she felt herself tremble slightly, pressing her cheek into his palm.

She dared to open her eyes and she stared up into the familiar hazel-eyes that seemed to have turned darker in colour, almost an intensifying black. He was closing the gap between them, ever so slowly, and she could feel her breath quicken as his lips grazed hers, his eyes never leaving hers.

She could swear she had stopped breathing as soon as James' lips touched hers and then he was kissing her and she was kissing him back, and it was perfect, exactly like she had imagined her first kiss to be, and she was running her hands through his messy hair and it was silkier than she had imagined it to be; she felt herself melting into his arms and getting lost in the kiss, forgetting about all her worries, because nothing mattered as long as she had James.

He pulled away from her, pressing his forehead against hers as they both gasped for air, lips tingling with a pleasing sensation.

"Lily—I—I need to ask you a question," James said in a low, husky voice. "And before you answer, you should know the Giant Squid isn't an option." Lily smiled as she nodded her head, knowing exactly where he was headed. "Go out with me?"

"Are you sure the Giant Squid isn't an option?"


	2. James

_I just couldn't resist. Especially not after all you lovely reviewers asked ever so nicely for the James' side of the story :) And this one was much easier to write. Anyway, this one's for **MissSunshine, dancingonstars, ClaireBear1982, kathac, **and **looneyshazza**. Much love to you all!  
_

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**James**

James Potter woke with a start, a horrible sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

And it had been because of _the dream_. He had been having the same dream ever since he had patched things up with Lily Evans—Head Girl to his Head Boy and, if he was being honest with himself, the love of his life. The dream was about Lily—honestly, _all_ of his dreams were about Lily—dancing farther and farther out of his reach until she reached the arms of a faceless stranger and the two embraced in a passionate kiss, leaving James standing alone, trying to hold the pieces of his heart together.

It was a bit pathetic, he had to admit, but it left him feeling hopeless nevertheless. Not for the first time did he wish that Lily could go back to hating him because being _just_ her friend was pure torture. Never before had she been so close to him, yet so far away. He knew that ultimately, she would find someone who loved her the way she deserved and James would get to play the part of the happy friend, when in reality, he'd die a little inside.

_Get a grip on yourself, James_, he told himself as he strode over to the window, pushing it open. The cold gush of wind was all he needed to alleviate the drowning sensation in the bottom of his chest.

He stared at the rain for a while, watching it intensely, as if it held all the answers to his problems. He had always found rain to be soothing and today was no exception. His head cleared a bit and he realised that being Lily's friend wasn't so bad. There was a chance, however minute, that he could still win her over.

And he could definitely wait for it to happen—he'd been waiting for seven years, what was a few more? After all, his mum always said the best things in life are worth the wait, and Lily Evans was definitely the best thing there was, right?

He was about to turn away from the window and walk back to bed, when a flash of red caught his eye. He peered into the darkness, not believing his eyes.

Yet, there she was; the very reason for his existence, not to mention his, lack of sleep. And she was dancing. _Bloody_ _dancing_ in the blasted rain! Didn't she know how dangerous it was to be out at what, three in the morning? And not to mention, she could catch a bloody cold, for Merlin's sake!

He hastily threw on a pair of discarded trousers and an old shirt before rushing down the stairs and out onto the pouring rain. He watched with awe as she threw back her head and laughed, throwing her arms open as she twirled around, reminding James of the ballerinas his mum had taken him to see when he was seven. She moved with a graceful purpose and not for the first time did James realise just how beautiful she truly was.

"What the hell are you doing, Evans?" he called through the sound of rumbling thunder overhead as he ran towards her. Lily spun around and smiled as she caught sight of him. "It's pouring out here!"

"Dancing in the rain, what else?" she shouted back, grinning like if it were the most normal thing in the world, to be out at three in the morning, twirling around in the rain.

She cocked her head to the side as he reached her, her eyes dancing with laughter. She was a real mystery to him, one that he was yearning to solve. She was spunky and random and beautiful and—and just plain _wonderful_.

"Dance with me?" she asked, grinning up at him.

"You're a nutter, you know that?" he said, as he peered down at her, a small smile appearing on his lips.

He allowed her to grab a hold of his hands, joining in dancing on her laughter as she pulled him closer to her body. He placed a hand on her waist and joined her in her dance, moving to the rhythm of music that only they could hear. _To the rhythm of love_, he thought to himself as he twirled her around and she threw her head back, laughing heartily, as if nothing pleased her more than dancing in the rain with him.

She grabbed hold of the collar of his shirt then, pulling him down towards her, pressing her lips ever so slightly against his.

He stood there, feeling shocked. Was she really kissing him? Was it truly Lily Evans that was kissing him? Or was this all just a glorious dream?

But no. She was kissing him. Lily Evans was really kissing him and why was he just standing there? Wasn't that exactly what he'd been dreaming of for the past seven years?

And now she was pulling away, her eyes wide and he could see the hurt replacing the dancing laughter that had been there only moments before. And now she was turning away and was he really going to be that dense as to let her walk away from him?

_No_, he decided with conviction. _I've been waiting for this bloody moment for too long._

He grabbed a hold of her wrist, steering her around to face him and his breath quickened as she looked up at him, her green eyes wide with anticipation and _longing_.

He could see the tears adorning her beautiful green eyes and he brought his hand up, gently wiping her tears away because he just couldn't stand to see her cry, especially not because of him.

She closed her eyes at his touch, pressing her cheek into his palm, before opening them again, looking at him earnestly. He slowly closed the gap between them, keeping his eyes trained on Lily, looking for any sign that she didn't want him to proceed; he was giving her time to run away if she wanted to. But she didn't. She was looking up at him, her eyes conveying all the words she dared not speak out loud.

And he knew then. He knew then that she wanted this as much as he did.

And he could swear his heart stopped beating at the realisation and he knew then he could die happy because Lily Evans wanted him as much as he wanted her.

She held her breath as soon as his lips touched hers and James felt his heart skip a beat. And then he was kissing her and she was kissing him back, their lips moving in perfect symphony.

Her lips were blissful oblivion and she tasted faintly of strawberries, just like he had imagined she would.

Nothing could have prepared him for the glorious turmoil going on around his head at the feel of her; her hair was smoother than he had imagined and her skin felt like silk under his calloused hands. It was better than winning the Quidditch Cup, better than anything he could have imagined and he could feel himself soaring higher and higher; surely he'd wake up at any moment? Because this was too good to be true.

But she was really there and this was really happening. It had taken him seven years—seven bloody years—but he was finally kissing her. And it had been worth the wait.

He pulled away from her after a few minutes that seemed like hours and pressed his forehead against hers, relishing in the fact that he was the reason for Lily Evans' smile. A question sprung to his lips—the very same he had been itching to ask her ever since he caught sight of her in Kings Cross Station earlier that month.

"Lily—I—I need to ask you a question. And before you answer, you should know the Giant Squid isn't an option." Lily smiled as she nodded her head and James returned her smile, gathering courage for what he was about to ask her next. "Go out with me?"

"Are you sure the Giant Squid isn't an option?" she smiled, her voice full of laughter. James grinned lopsidedly as he watched Lily looking up at him, knowing her answer, but wanting to hear it anyway. "Yes."

James felt his heart soar at the sound of that glorious word and he pressed his lips against hers, not wanting the moment to end, because he was kissing Lily Evans and she was kissing him back.

He felt the rest of the world melt around them because they were all that mattered and how could he have been so stupid to think he could actually live without her?


End file.
